Seat belt Question

[MadScientist]

hi all,

I am in the process of finishing up the interior and wanted to know if I will be screwing up my belts by removing the buckles?  Is it possible?  I want to make sure before I start to wrestle those things outta there.  They are all pretty stiff etc.

MS

[Nacho-RT74]

Is just another piece to remove like the rest. No headaches about it. You can do it

[MadScientist]

Great news.  I'll get on them tonight!

[Chatt69chgr]

I am not sure I know what you mean by "removing the buckles".  Do you mean removing the entire buckle portion of the seat belt from the belt material itself?  Or do you mean the cover you lift up?  I am not sure how you would remove the buckle from the belt as it won't slip thru-----the end of the belt is sewn over making it double thick.  I tried removing the buckle portion that lifts up and wasn't able to figure out how to do it on my 69.  I do think it can be done as you would have to do this to replate the buckle.  But it might take a special jig to do it without destroying the painted portion of the buckle.  I suppose you could use a seam ripper to undo the fold at the end of the belt.  You would have to go somewhere to get it sew back.   Probably a upholstery shop.  I wouldn't take the anchors loose however due to safety reasons.  I redyed my belts and immersed the whole thing in the dye (at 175 degrees for 30 min).  Messed up the paint on the buckle but they needed to be repainted anyway. 

[MadScientist]

Ummm yep, thats what I thought.  Theres no way to get the buckle off without busting that doubled-up part of the belt off and Im not going to do that.  When you mention dye at 175 degrees...its gotta be boiling!!!   Can you provide some more details?  Type of dye, pretreatment, postreatment, buckle treatment afterward. that would be great!

At this point I was thinking of washing them well and then spraying them with SEM, but Im open to other methods!

Thanks for the help!

MS

[Nacho-RT74]

Oh I thought you were talking about REMOVE THE ASSEMBLY from the floor. whooooopssss

[tan top]

i took my buckles off by un picking the folded end . once you have put them back on re-fold the end clamp it carefully with vice grips, then sow it togeather following the original pattern . push & pull the needle through with pliers , be carefull the needle don't snap . only do the buckle end like this ,as this is only done to stop the buckle comming off & requires no strength in the stitching

[Chatt69chgr]

I had some real nice black belts out of a 69 New Yorker that were identical to the Charger.  But all wouldn't work.  I was able to put together the rest by sourcing period Chrysler products at two junkyards.  Some of the belts were green and I think one or two were blue.  Some were faded somewhat.  The first thing I did with my pile of belts was to go over the buckles and use my dremel tool with little brushes on it and got any rust off.  Next, I got on the computer and checked out the Rit Dye website.  They have some nice information on how to dye nylon.  Rit dye is not some kind of coloring agent like paint.  It is a real analine dye.  These are the same dyes that they color nylon with where it's made.  The dye doesn't work until you get up to around 175 to 180 degrees F.  You need to get a stainless steel stockpot-----I have a 20 quart size I make chili for cookouts in.  You mix in the proper quantity of powder dye and heat the solution to the proper temperature.  In the meantime, the belts need to be scrubbed with a good detergent and worked down with a stiff cleaning brush.  They will be thoroughly wetted now---and clean.  Put them into the solution and maintain the temperature stirring them for 30 minutes.  I stirred them with a wooden dowel and monitored the temperature with a immersion thermometer.  Remove and rinse in warm water and then in cool water.  I took mine outside then and used compressed air to blow them off and then put them over the heat registers in the house to dry.  Next day, they were completely dry.  I then used clear laquer to cover the rusted areas on the chrome and lightly sanded the colored parts of the buckles and painted them with a semigloss black.   When you get through, the webbing looks new.  The website tells you what dye colors to use to cover each base color.  I think green needed a package of black and half package of scarlet.  I will tell you that the translucent colored plastic things that kind of keep the belts together will be dyed black too.  But that was a small concession to get belts that look like they were brand new.  Beats going to snakeoyl for $900.  This all assumes your buckles are not too bad in the rust dept.  New webbing is available from a place called Crusinmoons if you need it.  They don't have thread to sew with.  I would be afraid of this due to safety reasons.

[MadScientist]

I had some real nice black belts out of a 69 New Yorker that were identical to the Charger.  But all wouldn't work.  I was able to put together the rest by sourcing period Chrysler products at two junkyards.  Some of the belts were green and I think one or two were blue.  Some were faded somewhat.  The first thing I did with my pile of belts was to go over the buckles and use my dremel tool with little brushes on it and got any rust off.  Next, I got on the computer and checked out the Rit Dye website.  They have

This is exactly what I am planning to do!  Thanks for the info. What happened to the plastic at the bottom of the belts near the attatchment point? Is that the plastic you are referring to?  I would like to use SEM on that after dying the nylon.  I hope you cleaned out that pot before making the next batch of Chili!

MS

[Chatt69chgr]

I think the plastic pieces you are referring to are the covers over the metal pieces that attach to the floor with a big bolt.  Mine were black so I just cleaned them up.  I don't know what kind of plastic these are.  If you have some spares, you could play around with dyeing them along with the belts but I would be careful.  I just don't know and I wouldn't want to tell you something that would ruin them.   I don't see any reason why you couldn't use SEM on them.  Once they are installed, there is no flexure involved with them so it should stay on OK.

I did clean the pot out real good before the next batch of Chili.  Ha Ha!!!!

[MadScientist]

Thanks for the info!  I was just concerned that since the plastic will be inthere during the dying procedure, it may alter it such that it wont take a coat of SEM properly.  I dont think it will make a difference.  Im starting this tonight!

MS

[tan top]

     don't know if this is any help  ... that part  has been re-popped now in black only  about $30

[MadScientist]

Thats good to know in case I screw it up! 

[MadScientist]

Here is the finished product.  Before and after pics

MS

[Chatt69chgr]

Excellent job Madscientist.  Mine came out looking the same.  I was very pleased with the result and it sure beat paying Snakeoyl 8 or 9 hundred dollars.

[MadScientist]

yup. Im very pleased with the results and so is my wife.  She was so happy that I didnt spend the $900 on new belts that she volunteered to sew the labels back on!